Thanks Zovic just waiting to hear back from Tom who suggested he could go back into brumation as long as he hasn't eaten anything. He did have an incredibly tiny piece of cucumber the soft watery bit and literally only a couple of millimetres and incredibly thin so given that is pretty much all...
Okay thank you Zovick. We'll carry on with tepid baths and hope he settles down. I feel a bit of a fool having brought him in too early but just panicked, but I'm learning with each year. I think it's because forty years ago we had tortoises when I was a teenager and lost all four of them one...
Due to very cold nights down to -10C I decided to bring our 5 year old Greek tortoise back indoors from the garage 7 weeks after starting brumation I allowed him to gradually reawaken over a few days in his box in the lobby where it was around 10-14C and then he came out two days ago. I've...
Cheers Tom thats useful - yes don't worry I don't ever put the polysterene bits in their box only packing the outside surrounds (same with bobble). I never use sand. Am collecting up lots of leaves to dry out next few days to replace the straw!
Thanks guys for all the information. Really helpful. I used an organic topsoil other tortoise forums in the UK recommended which apparently are free of nasties but I appreciate this is not always guaranteed. Last year he slept soundly for eight weeks in a mix of newspaper, straw and polystyrene...
Actually 'slightly damp' is maybe stretching it a bit - I let the soil dry out for at a week and so it feels crumbly but with a hint of moisture in it (just run my fingers through it again just now to check). He seems very settled in his air holed cardboard box (within a air holed plastic box!)...
Thanks Alex. Can I check, I used some top soil and straw plus newspaper for his box. Is it a problem if the soil is slightly damp? If so, I could remove it and replace him into a drier container with dry straw and newspaper.
Hi everyone, I can't seem to find an answer to this one, but I have read that people weigh their tortoises during brumation occasionally. Is this a good idea? Will it not disturb them and cut short their brumation? I'm reticent to do so.
Brilliant thank you very much for the comprehensive notes. We're heartened we're doing some things right but will scrutinise your advice to make further changes. All really helpful. 😁
Thanks for your comments yes it's bad isn't it the advice you get from breeders. It took a year before we realised they couldn't go together and they're much happier the last eighteen months. Yes we've UVA and UVB set ups with top soil substrate plus some rocks, tortoise friendly plants and...